User-defined classifieds

ABSTRACT

A system and method for creating and classifying listings within user-defined marketplaces. An information database in communication with an information application comprises a plurality of marketplaces and a plurality of listings respectively classified within the plurality of marketplaces. The marketplaces stored in the information database may be either pre-defined or user-defined. User-defined marketplaces are created based at least in part on information supplied by an access device in communication with the information database.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/231,046, now Issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,185,552, entitled“USER-DEFINED CLASSIFIEDS,” related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/060,243, entitled “IMPROVING SEARCH RELEVANCE AND YELLOW PAGECLASSIFICATION INTEGRATION BY USING BUSINESS PROFILE CONTENT ANDVERTICAL INDUSTRY TEMPLATES”, filed on Feb. 17, 2005, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/060,209, entitled “METHOD FOR EXTRACTION ANDSELECTION OF ENHANCED BUSINESS INFORMATION FROM WEBSITES, BUSINESSPROFILES AND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS”, filed on Feb. 17, 2005, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/948,425, entitled “BUSINESS RATING PLACEMENTHEURISTIC”, filed on Sep. 23, 2004, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/680,952, now Issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,050,990, entitled “INFORMATIONDISTRIBUTION SYSTEM”, filed on Oct. 8, 2003, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/505,597, filed Sep. 24, 2003, titled“INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM”. The contents of all of theseapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Various forms of classified-type advertising have existed for manyyears. According to one traditional approach, an individual ororganization interested in advertising an item or service for sale, orin advertising a need for a particular item or service, pays a nominalfee to a print-based advertising service, such as a local newspaper, torun a simple print advertisement detailing the item or service for saleor the item or service desired. Traditionally, this simple printadvertisement is then printed by the local newspaper in a section of thenewspaper where similar advertisements are grouped into pre-definedcategories so as to be readily navigable by readers of the newspaper.

Although these simple print-based advertisements, commonly referred toas “classified advertisements” (or simply “classifieds”, for short),provide individuals and organizations with the ability to advertiseitems, services, announcements or needs to a pre-defined subset of thegeneral public for a relatively nominal fee, they suffer from a numberof limitations.

For example, in the case of a classified advertisement placed in a localnewspaper, the number of people that might potentially be exposed to theadvertisement is limited to the readership of the local newspaper. Whengreater exposure is desired, an individual's or organization's onlytraditional alternative has been to place the classified advertisementin a newspaper having a larger readership, such as a general circulationor regional newspaper. However, regardless of the circulation size ofthe newspaper, the exposure or reach of the classified advertisement islimited to the readership of the newspaper, be it large or small.

The rigid exposure and reach limitations of traditional print-basedclassified advertisements are especially bothersome when an individualor organization is interested in selling an item that is difficult orcostly to ship, is of too low a value to justify the travel timepotential buyers must expend in evaluating the item for sale, or isbetter targeted to a specific subset of the general population, such asa community, neighborhood, workplace or other affinity group. Theseexposure and reach limitations may also prove to be time and priceprohibitive, since potential buyers of items and services may not havethe patience to wade through an entire city's list of classifiedadvertisements when they are only interested in items or servicesoffered within their local community or neighborhood.

For example, an individual interested in selling a used children'sbicycle for $20 is unlikely to place a classified ad in a major citynewspaper listing this item due to the low value of the item relative tothe cost of the ad and the low probability that a potential buyer wouldbe willing to drive across a big city to examine and/or purchase thislow-cost item. Items such as a used children's bicycle are moreappropriately offered for sale within a more localized community,neighborhood or affinity group. Conventional print-based classifiedadvertising systems, however, fail to serve as an effective or efficientsystem or method for advertising such items.

In recent years, with the increased popularity of the Internet, variousattempts have been made at modifying traditional print-based classifiedadvertising models to take advantage of the ease-of-use, accessibilityand exposure afforded by the Internet. According to one conventionalapproach, an online classified provider allows users to create onlineclassified postings containing a description of the items or servicesthey wish to buy or sell, usually in consideration for a nominal fee.These classified postings are then published by the online classifiedprovider on a centralized public website for viewing by members of thegeneral public via the Internet.

Typically, when creating these online classified postings, users areasked to select a pre-defined category or subcategory under which theuser desires the posting to be classified. These categories andsubcategories are defined by system administrators of the onlineclassified system and are usually based on a conventional taxonomyclassification system. For example, an individual interested in sellinga portable notebook computer might create an online classified postingdetailing the specifics of the computer for sale, such as the speed ofthe computer's processor, the size of its hard drive and the askingprice. In this situation, the user might decide to have this postclassified under the administrator-defined category of “Computers”, orfurther classified under the administrator-defined subcategory of“Computers—Laptops”.

However, because online classified postings are, according to thisconventional approach, classified by specific administrator-definedcategories and subcategories irrespective of their geographic location,potential buyers using this online classified system may only locateitems or services relevant to their needs by browsing through orsearching within these administrator-defined categories andsubcategories. Thus, conventional online classified systems fail toserve as an efficient or effective system for buying or selling items orservices that are more appropriately exchanged within a localizedgeographic region, such as items that are difficult or costly to ship orare of too low a value to justify the travel costs associated withobtaining the item. Conventional online classified systems additionallyfail to provide an effective system and method for buying or sellingitems or services that do not fall squarely within theadministrator-defined categories and subcategories.

For example, an individual interested in selling a shovel would beunlikely to purchase an online classified advertisement throughconventional online classified systems given the low value of the itemrelative to the costs associated with shipping this item. Classifiedadvertisements publicizing the sale of items such as this shovel aremore appropriately targeted to a specific or localized subset of thegeneral population, such as a community, neighborhood, workplace orother affinity group.

According to another conventional approach, users of an onlineclassified system are given the option of classifying online classifiedpostings according to certain administrator-defined geographic regions,such as a state or a city. As with the administrator-defined categoriesand subcategories discussed previously, the geographic regions withwhich an online classified posting can be associated are pre-defined bysystem administrators of the online classified system. In an effort toavoid complexity, system administrators of conventional onlineclassified systems limit these geographic regions to states or highlypopulated cities. Online classified postings may also be furtherclassified into administrator-defined categories and subcategorieswithin these administrator-defined geographic regions in essentially thesame manner as described above.

However, as with traditional print-based classified advertising, usersof these conventional online classified advertising systems are forcedto classify online classified postings within specificadministrator-defined geographic regions, categories and subcategoriesspecified by the online classified provider. Because theadministrator-defined geographic regions are limited to states or highlypopulated cities, an individual interested in selling a used children'sbicycle for $20 is again unlikely to purchase an online classified adlisting this item due to the low probability that a potential buyerwould be willing to drive across a state or a big city to examine and/orpurchase this low-cost item.

Thus, conventional online classified advertising systems fail to remedyall of the limitations of print-based classified advertising systems. Inparticular, conventional online-based classified advertising systemsfail to serve as an effective or efficient system and method foradvertising items or services that are better targeted to a morelocalized subset of the general population, such as a neighborhood,workplace or other affinity group.

Accordingly, there exists a need for a comprehensive online classifiedadvertising system and method capable of allowing individuals andorganizations to create user-defined categories, subcategories andgeographic locations (collectively, “user-defined marketplaces”), withinwhich items, services and/or information may be offered, requested,and/or exchanged. There also exists a need for a system and method forallowing individuals, organizations and other affinity groups toexercise control over various aspects of these user-definedmarketplaces, such as how these user-defined marketplaces are to beclassified and relate to other categories and/or geographic locations,what content may be posted within these user-defined marketplaces, andto whom and when access to these user-defined marketplaces is to begranted. Such a system and method would advantageously facilitate theexchange of items, services and information within a virtual marketplacespecifically tailored to an individual's or organization's particularneeds and domains of interest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary physicalinfrastructure of a system implementing an information platform.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict an exemplary process flow for creatinguser-defined marketplaces.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary process flow for creating user-definedlisting topics.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process flow for creating classifiedlistings.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process flow for enabling users tosearch for listings posted in marketplaces stored in an informationplatform.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary process flow for enabling users tobrowse for and locate listings by interacting with a webpage hosted by aserver.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary process flow for determining when usersmay access contact information attributes associated with classifiedlistings in user-defined marketplaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS I. System Overview

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary physical infrastructure of a system 100 thatimplements an information platform 102. According to at least oneembodiment, system 100 comprises a network 104 for establishingcommunication between a server 106 providing an information application108 and an access device 110 via various connections 112. Connections112 may include any number of connections recognized in the art,including, for example, wires, wireless communication links, fiber opticcables, etc. Network 104 may represent any number of telecommunicationsor computer networks known to those skilled in the art, including, forexample, an intranet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network(LAN), or the Internet.

Information platform 102 includes server 106, which, according to someembodiments, is a Web server computing device well known to thoseskilled in the art. Server 106 communicates with access device 110 overnetwork 104 via connections 112. In many embodiments, access device 110is a computing device such as a laptop, notebook, desktop, or handheldor mobile computing device. Access device 110 generally includes adisplay and one or more input devices such as a keyboard and/or pointingdevice or other input device known to those skilled in the art. In someembodiments, access device 110 is capable of running a Web browser, aswill be known to those skilled in the art, which may be in communicationwith information application 108. Access device 110 may also beconfigured to communicate with server 106 and/or information applicationin accordance with any number of protocols or formats, such as HyperTextTransport Protocol (HTTP), Really Simple Syndication (RSS) and/orExtensible Markup Language (XML).

Information platform 102 further includes an information database 114.Server 106 and information application 108 communicate with informationdatabase 114 via connection 113, which may be one or more types ofconnections as described above in connection with connections 112. Inmany embodiments, information application 108 is a software applicationexecuted within server 106 and/or information database 114. In addition,although depicted in FIG. 1 as physically separate devices, in someembodiments server 106 and information database 114 exist on a singlephysical computing device and/or are embodied in a single softwareapplication. Further, those skilled in the art will recognize thatserver 106 and/or database 114 may include more than one server 106and/or database 114. Information database 114 generally includes, amongother things, listing classification data 116 and listings 118.

Listing classification data 116 contains data generally relating tomarketplaces under which listings 118 may be classified and organized.The term “marketplace” is to be construed broadly as generally referringto any type of virtual forum in which items, services, and/orinformation may be offered, requested, provided, obtained, shared,and/or exchanged. In some embodiments, the term marketplace issynonymous with a classifieds category, a classifieds subcategory,and/or a geographic location. Marketplace may also refer a discussionforum, announcement board, or classifieds community.

Listing classification data 116 may comprise, among other things,administrator-defined marketplaces 120 and user-defined marketplaces122. Administrator-defined marketplaces 120 are created by systemadministrators of information platform 102, while user-definedmarketplaces 122 are created by users 132 who are provided access to theinformation database 114, as will be explained in greater detail below.

Administrator-defined marketplaces 120 generally comprise categoricalclassifications 124 and geographic classifications 126. Categoricalclassifications 124 generally include administrator-defined categoriesand subcategories under which listings 118 may be classified.Categorical classifications 124 may be broadly defined by systemadministrators to encompass a large number of listings 118, or may bemore narrowly defined so as to encompass a more specific group oflistings 118. Examples of broader categorical classifications 124include “For Sale”, “Help Wanted”, “Community Organizations”, “ReligiousGroups”, etc., while examples of narrower categorical classifications124 include “Consumer Electronics”, “Health Care Jobs”, “Youth SoccerClubs” or “Baptist Congregations”.

In some embodiments, listing classification data 116 contains dataidentifying the taxonomic relationship or relationships between eachcategorical classification 124 stored in information database 114, asspecified by system administrators of information platform 102. Forexample, listing classification data 116 might contain data defining thecategorical classification “Consumer Electronics” as a species withinthe genus of the categorical classification “For Sale,” “Health CareJobs” as a species of the genus “Help Wanted”, “Youth Soccer Clubs” as aspecies of the genus “Community Organizations”, “Baptist Congregations”as a species of the genus “Religious Groups”, and so on. Classificationof taxonomy data is discussed in greater detail elsewhere, for example,in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/680,952.

Administrator-defined marketplaces 120 may also include geographicclassifications 126. Geographic classifications 126 relate generally toa geographic area or region under which listings 118 may be classified.For example, geographic classifications 126 might relate to a city,county, state, region, zip code or telephone area code. Specificexamples of such administrator-defined geographic classifications 126include “California”, “Manhattan”, “Arlington County”, “Zip Code 84111”and “Area Code 703”.

In many embodiments, listing classification data 116 also includes dataidentifying the hierarchical relationship between these variousgeographic classifications 126. For example, listing classification data116 might contain data defining the geographic classification “SanFrancisco” as a city within the state geographic classification of“California”, or the geographic classification “Zip Code 84111” as a zipcode within the state geographic classification of “Utah”.

Categorical classifications 124 may also be provided within a certaingeographic classification 126, and/or various geographic classificationsmay be provided within a certain categorical classification 124. Forexample, the geographic classification of “San Francisco” might includethe categorical classifications of “Housing”, “For Sale” and “HelpWanted”, while the categorical classification of “ReligiousAffiliations” might also include the geographic classifications of“Georgia”, “Houston” and “Boston”.

As detailed above, listing classification data 116 may also includeuser-defined marketplaces 122. User-defined marketplaces 122 may becreated and defined by users 132 to provide a virtual forum forindividuals in a region, group, organization or association, including,for example, neighborhoods, communities, church groups, universities,hobby clubs, businesses, places of employment, or other affinity groups.Once created, user-defined marketplaces 122 function similarly toadministrator-defined marketplaces by providing a virtual forum in whichitems, services, and/or information may be offered, requested, provided,obtained, shared, and/or exchanged. Thus, user-defined marketplaces 122provide users 132 with the ability to create marketplaces beyond thosetraditionally defined by system administrators, thereby allowing users132 to dynamically tailor the scope and reach of listings 118 to theirparticular domain of interest. An exemplary manner and method forcreating user-defined marketplaces 122 will be discussed in greaterdetail below in connection with FIGS. 2A and 2B.

In some embodiments, user-defined marketplaces 122 may be associatedwith or classified under pre-existing administrator-defined marketplaces120. For example, the user-defined marketplace “Dallas Baptist Church”might be classified under the administrator-defined geographicclassification of “Texas—Dallas” or the administrator-definedcategorical classification of “Religious Groups”. User-definedmarketplaces 122 may also be “linked” to other related user-definedmarketplaces 122 within information database 114. For example, theuser-defined marketplace “Dallas Baptist Church” may be linked to otheruser-defined marketplaces created by neighboring churches, such as the“Methodist Church of Dallas” or the “Dallas Episcopalian Church”.Generally speaking, linking refers to a relationship or associationbetween user-defined marketplaces 122 that is designated by creators oradministrators of these user-defined marketplaces 122. Data detailingthese linking relationships between user-defined marketplaces arecontained generally within information platform 102, such as withininformation database 114 and/or listing classification data 116. Linkingrelationships between user-defined marketplaces 122 will be discussed ingreater detail below in connection with FIGS. 2A and 2B.

As detailed above, information database 114 also includes listings 118.Listings 118 generally relate to advertisements or informationalpostings, such as classified advertisements or online discussion forumor message board postings, created or controlled by users 132 or systemadministrators of information platform 102. According to at least oneembodiment, the attributes and content of listings 118 are stored aspart of each listing 118. The attributes and content of listings 118 mayalso be stored additionally or alternatively in listing attribute data128 and listing content data 130, contained within listings 118. In atleast one embodiment, the attributes of listings 118 are contained inlisting attribute data 128 and the content of listings 118 is containedin listing content data 130.

Listing attribute data 128 generally contains data relating toattributes about a specific listing 118. For example, listing attributedata 128 may include the contact information of the user who createdlisting 118, such as the address, phone number or email address of theuser (“contact information attribute”), the geographic location to beassociated with listing 118 (“geographic attribute”), and themarketplaces and/or the classifications that listing 118 is to beclassified under (“classification attribute”).

Listing attribute data 128 may further include information regarding thefees that user 132 pays for the display of listing 118 (“fee-typeattribute”). For example, user 132 may pay a flat periodic fee (e.g., afee paid weekly, monthly or annually), a classification-based fee (e.g.,a fee that increases as the number of classifications with which listing118 is to be associated increases), or a “per-hit” fee (e.g., a fee thatis incurred every time a user 132 accesses a particular listing 118) forthe display of listings 118. Fee-type attributes are discussed in moredetail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/680,952.

Listing content data 130 generally contains information about the item,service, announcement, message or need that user 132 desires to belisted in listing 118. For example, listing content data 130 mightcontain a detailed description of an item for sale, details about aneighborhood barbeque, information about a secretarial job opening, or amessage that user 132 desires to communicate to members of an onlinediscussion forum. Listing content data 130 might also contain variousforms of electronic data or media, such as text, digital pictures, videoclips or sounds. For example, listing content data 130 might containdigital pictures of artwork for sale or a digital video clip of a homefor sale.

User 132 may interact with information platform 102 to create or controllistings 118 or user-defined marketplaces 122 stored or to be stored ininformation database 114 or to obtain information about one or more oflistings 118 stored in information database 114 in any number of ways,including, for example, via access device 110 over connection 112. User132 may also create, control or obtain information about listings 118and user-defined marketplaces 122 by interacting with informationplatform 102 through various information technology mechanisms known tothose skilled in the art, such as software applications that areconfigured or adapted to interface with information platform 102. Suchinterfacing applications may interact with information platform 102 inan automated or manual manner, engaging in batch, real-time, scheduled,or ad-hoc interactions.

User 132 may be any person, company, organization, affinity group orother entity (including “virtual” entities, such as softwareapplications) that uses information platform 102 to create, control orobtain information about listings 118 and/or user-defined marketplaces122. In many embodiments, user 132 can be referred to as an advertiser,a seller, an announcer, a buyer, a purchaser, a consumer, a searcher, adiscussion forum or message board participant, a leader, organizer,member or potential member of an affinity group or organization.

Although users 132 include offerors or potential purchasers of variousgoods, services, or other offerings, users 132 can also includeindividuals, organizations or affinity groups interested incommunicating with others to pursue future interactions. For example,users 132 could be leaders, organizers, members or potential new membersof churches and religious affiliations, political parties, communityaction groups, neighborhoods and communities, places of employment,hobby and enthusiast clubs, or team sports organizations.

Users 132 can also be any entity or individual seeking to provideinformation about itself to others, or to obtain information about theexistence of another entity or individual, through one or more listings118 residing in information database 114. For example, users 132 may beindividuals interested in acquiring information about other individuals,or in providing information about themselves, for the purpose ofpursuing potential personal or professional relationships.

Users 132 may also include individuals or organizations interested inproviding or obtaining information about an event or other occurrence,such as, for example, a town hall meeting, a neighborhood carnival, oran estate sale. Users 132 may also include individuals interested inproviding, obtaining or organizing information related to a specifictopic or affinity group. For example, users 132 may include individualsinterested in discussing team-sports, religious topics, technologicaladvancements, relationship concerns, etc.

Although only one user 132 is displayed in FIG. 1, it is anticipatedthat millions of different users 132 may submit and receive informationusing information platform 102. The capacity of information platform 102is only limited by the information technology architecture that supportsthe functionality of information platform 102 (for example, the numberof servers 106 and/or information databases 114).

II. Creation of User-Defined Marketplaces

As detailed above, users 132 may create user-defined marketplaces 122 toprovide a virtual forum for individuals in a region, group, organizationor association. FIGS. 2A and 2B depict an exemplary process flow 200 forcreating and classifying user-defined marketplaces 122. Process flow 200may be implemented within information application 108, informationdatabase 114, information platform 102, and/or other appropriateportions of system 100, as will be known to those skilled in the art. Inmany embodiments, user 132 creates user-defined marketplaces 122 byinteracting with various aspects of information platform 102 via accessdevice 110.

In step 201, user 132 requests the creation of a new user-definedmarketplace 122. User 132 may enter this request in any number of waysknown in the art, including through access device 110. For example, user132 may interact with a webpage hosted by a server such as server 106 toenter or select a request to create a new user-defined marketplace 122via a data entry mechanism such as a keyboard or mouse connected toaccess device 110. This request may then be transmitted by access device110 to server 106 and information application 108 via a connection orconnections 112, 113 and/or network 104.

Upon receipt of the request for a new user-defined marketplace 122, atstep 202 it is determined whether user 132 is a registered member/userof information platform 102. This may occur, for example, by displayinga prompt on access device 110 asking user 132 to specify whether he/sheis a registered member of information platform 102. User 132 may thenenter a response to this prompt via access device 110, which responsemay then be transmitted to server 106 and/or information application 108via connections 112. If at step 202 user 132 specifies that he/she is aregistered user of information platform 102, control proceeds to step206 where user 132 may be prompted to enter login information.Otherwise, control proceeds to step 204.

At step 204, user 132 is prompted to complete a registration process.Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that theregistration process depicted in step 204 can occur in any number ofways, including by prompting user 132 to enter various information orpersonally-identifiable indicia via access device 110, such as a name,address, email address, telephone number, etc. The registration processin step 204 may also entail requiring user 132 to define a usernameand/or password. Upon successful registration at step 204, the usernameand/or password defined by user 132 may be assigned to the user byinformation application 108.

The specific information required from user 132 to complete theregistration process at step 204 is definable and customizable byadministrators of information platform 102. In some embodiments, noinformation is required of user 132 and steps 202-208 are deemedoptional. In other embodiments, steps 202-208 are mandatory.

At step 206, user 132 is prompted to enter the login informationprovided to user 132 upon registration with information platform 102.Upon entry of the requested login information, at step 208 it isdetermined whether the login information entered by user 132 matchesregistration records contained within information platform 102. If thelogin information provided by user 132 matches registration recordscontained within information platform 102, then control proceeds to step210. Otherwise, control returns to step 206 where user 132 is againprompted to enter login information.

Once user 132 has successfully logged into information platform 102, atstep 210 user 132 is prompted to enter the name by which the newuser-defined marketplace 122 is to be called. Examples of potentialnames for user-defined marketplaces 122 include “Dallas First BaptistChurch”, “St. Louis Youth Soccer Clubs”, “University of MarylandAlumni”, “Indianapolis Rotary Club”, etc. Upon entry and transmission ofthis name to information platform 102, at step 212 it is determinedwhether this name has already been used in connection withpreviously-defined marketplaces (administrator-defined or user-defined).If so, control proceeds to step 214 where user 132 is prompted to entera different name. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 216 where the namespecified by user 132 may be assigned to the new user-definedmarketplace 122.

In certain embodiments approval by system administrators of informationplatform 102 may be required prior to assigning the name specified byuser 132 at step 210 to the new user-defined marketplace at step 216.For instance, system administrators of information platform 102 mayrequire user 132 to successfully demonstrate that he/she has the rightto use the name specified at step 210 prior to assigning this name tothe new user-defined marketplace. For example, system administrators ofinformation platform 102 might require a user 132 to successfully proveownership rights to the name “IBM” prior to allowing a user 132 tocreate a user-defined marketplace named “IBM Dallas”. This approvalprocess may, in some cases, prevent users 132 from creating marketplacesnamed after entities, organizations, etc. without having the appropriateright to use the desired name, or prevent users from using names thatare outside the etiquette/decorum rules established by theadministrators of platform 102.

As seen in the continued process flow diagram of FIG. 2B, at step 218user 132 is prompted to select an administrator-defined categoricalclassification 124 under which user 132 desires the new user-definedmarketplace 122 to be classified. User 132 may select this categoricalclassification 124 in a number of ways well known to those of skill inthe art, including by selecting a categorical classification 124 from adrop-down menu displayed on a webpage using a mouse connected to accessdevice 110 or by entering the name of the desired categoricalclassification 124 using a traditional data input device such as akeyboard. Generally speaking, users 132 may classify new user-definedmarketplaces 122 under any pre-existing categorical classification 124,regardless of whether the scope of the selected categoricalclassification 124 is broad or narrow. For example, a minister of theDallas First Baptist Church might decide to classify a new user-definedmarketplace 122 named “Dallas First Baptist Church” under anadministrator-defined categorical classification 124 named “ReligiousAffiliations”. Upon selection of a categorical classification 124, thenew user-defined marketplace 122 is then associated with and classifiedunder the selected categorical classification 124 at step 220.

Associating user-defined marketplaces 122 with administrator-definedcategorical classifications 124 in this exemplary manner enables eachuser-defined marketplace 122 to be organized and classified within thepre-existing taxonomic classification system detailed above, therebyfacilitating the seamless integration of each new user-definedmarketplace 122 into listing classification data 116. As describedabove, data detailing the taxonomic or hierarchal relationship betweenthe new user-defined marketplace 122 and the selected categoricalclassification 124 may be stored within information platform 102, suchas within server 106, information database 114, and/or listingclassification data 116.

In certain embodiments user 132 may also specify whether he/she desiresto classify the new user-defined marketplace 122 under a preexistinguser-defined marketplace 122 prior to proceeding to step 222. Forexample, an engineer and congregational member of the Dallas FirstBaptist Church might create and classify a new user-defined marketplacenamed “Dallas First Baptist Church Engineers” (essentially, a“sub-marketplace”) under the preexisting user-defined marketplace“Dallas First Baptist Church”. In many embodiments, approval from thecreators/administrators of the preexisting user-defined marketplace isrequired prior to allowing user 132 to classify the new user-definedsub-marketplace under this preexisting user-defined marketplace. Uponapproval by creators/administrators of the preexisting user-definedmarketplace, the new user-defined marketplace 122 may then be associatedwith and classified under the preexisting user-defined marketplace. Asdetailed above, data detailing the taxonomic or hierarchal relationshipbetween the new user-defined sub-marketplace and the preexistinguser-defined marketplace 122 may be stored within information platform102, such as within server 106, information database 114, and/or listingclassification data 116.

At step 222, user 132 is prompted to specify a geographic classificationunder which user 132 desires the new user-defined marketplace 122 to beclassified. User 132 may specify this geographic classification in anumber of ways well known to those of skill in the art, including byselecting a geographic classification from a drop-down menu displayed ona webpage using a mouse connected to access device 110 or by enteringthe name of the desired geographic location using a keyboard. Whenspecifying this geographic classification, user 132 may either specifyor select a pre-existing administrator-defined geographic classification126, such as “Washington D.C.—Metro Area”, or may specify a newuser-defined geographic classification.

In many examples, user 132 may choose to specify a new user-definedgeographic classification to more closely tailor the intended scope andreach of the new user-defined marketplace 122. For example, a user 132living in the Ballston community of Arlington, Va. may be interested inassociating a new user-defined marketplace 122 with a geographicclassification that is more local or specific than the entireWashington, D.C. metro area. In this example, user 132 may decide tospecify a previously-undefined geographic classification named “BallstonCommunity” or “Zip Code 22203”.

At step 224, it is determined whether the geographic classificationspecified by user 132 already exists within the previously-definedgeographic classifications 126 stored in information database 114 and/orlisting classification data 116. If user 132 has selected a pre-existinggeographic classification 126 or if a geographic classification 126matching the geographic classification specified by user 132 at step 222is located within information database 114, control proceeds to step 230where the new user-defined marketplace 122 is associated with thespecified geographic classification 126.

If, however, a matching geographic classification 126 is not locatedwithin information database 114, control proceeds to step 226. At step226, the new geographic location specified by user 132 is submitted tosystem administrators of information platform 102 for approval as a newuser-defined geographic classification. Although not illustrated in FIG.2B, in many examples at step 226 a user 132 may also be required toselect and submit an administrator-defined geographic location 126 underwhich the new user-defined geographic location is to be classified. Forexample, a user 132 interested in creating the user-defined geographicclassification “Ballston Community” may also be required to specify thatthis community is to be classified under the previously-definedgeographic classification “Washington D.C.—Metro Area”. If approved, anew geographic classification is created and control proceeds throughstep 228 to step 230 where this new geographic classification isassociated with the new user-defined marketplace 122. Otherwise, controlreturns to step 222.

At step 232, user 132 is prompted to specify whether he/she desires thenew user-defined marketplace 122 to be linked to similar or relatedmarketplaces. As detailed above, user-defined marketplaces 122 may belinked to other related user-defined marketplaces 122 within informationdatabase 114. For example, the user-defined marketplace “Dallas BaptistChurch” may be linked to other user-defined marketplaces created byneighboring churches, such as the “Methodist Church of Dallas” or the“Dallas Episcopalian Church”. Generally speaking, linking refers to arelationship or association between user-defined marketplaces 122 thatis designated by creators or administrators of user-defined marketplaces122.

User 132 may decide to designate this linking relationship with otheruser-defined marketplaces 122 for a number of reasons. For example,according to at least one embodiment, a creator or administrator of auser-defined marketplace 122 may link to a related marketplace to tailorthe exposure and reach of the user-defined marketplace 122. Forinstance, a creator/administrator may limit the right to post or viewlistings 118 or to gain access to the contact information attributes oflistings 118 within a user-defined marketplace 122 (collectively “accessrights”) based on whether a user 132 is a registered member of thisuser-defined marketplace 122 or a registered member of a linkedmarketplace. For example, the creator/administrator of the user-definedmarketplace “Dallas First Baptist Church” may decide that access rightswill only be granted to registered users of either the “Dallas FirstBaptist Church” marketplace or the linked marketplace “Methodist Churchof Dallas”.

By allowing creators or administrators of user-defined marketplaces 122to set access rights based on whether a user is a registered member of alinked marketplace, creators/administrators of user-defined marketplaces122 are thus able to grant access rights to a subset of users 132 thatis larger than the number of registered members of a specificmarketplace, but smaller than the total number of users 132 accessinginformation platform 102. The exposure and reach of each user-definedmarketplace can thus be more specifically tailored to meet the needs ofeach marketplace. An exemplary method for determining and setting accessrights is discussed in greater detail below in connection with step 240.

If at step 232 user 132 specifies that he/she desires to link the newlycreated user-defined marketplace 122 to other related or similarmarketplaces, control proceeds to step 234; otherwise control proceedsto step 238. At step 234, user 132 selects the one or morepreviously-defined marketplaces that are to be linked to thenewly-created user-defined marketplace 122. User 132 may select thesemarketplaces in any number of ways known to those of skill in the art,including, for example, by entering the desired marketplaces into searchfields displayed on a webpage hosted by server 106 using a keyboard orby selecting from a drop-down menu using a mouse connected to accessdevice 110 in communication with information application 108.

At step 236, the selected marketplaces are then linked to the newuser-defined marketplace 122. Data detailing this linking relationshipbetween the new user-defined marketplace 122 and the selectedmarketplaces may be stored within information platform 102, such aswithin server 106 or information database 114. Although not illustratedin FIG. 2B, in certain embodiments the marketplaces selected by user 132in step 234 will not be linked until creators/administrators of theselected marketplaces approve of this linking relationship. In addition,the creation of this linking relationship may also be dependent uponapproval by system administrators of information system 102.

At step 238, user 132 may be prompted to define various listing topicsto be contained in the newly-created user-defined marketplace 122. Theterm “listing topics” generally refers to categories and sub-categoriesof interest under which listings 118 may be posted in marketplaces(user-defined or administrator-defined). For example, the user-definedmarketplace “Dallas First Baptist Church” may contain the listing topics“Religious Discussion”, “Items for Sale” or “Service Opportunities”. Inmany embodiments, these listing topics are defined by a creator oradministrator of user-defined marketplace 122. Alternatively, theselisting topics may be defined by subsequent users 132 of user-definedmarketplace 122 or by administrators of information platform 102.

An exemplary manner and method of defining the listing topics discussedin connection with step 238 is illustrated by exemplary process flow 300in FIG. 3. Process flow 300 may be implemented within informationapplication 108, information database 114, information platform 102,and/or other appropriate portions of system 100, as will be known tothose skilled in the art. At step 302, a user 132 is prompted to specifywhether he/she desires to inherit listing topics defined withinpre-existing marketplaces into the new user-defined marketplace 122(i.e., whether user 132 desires to have the same listing topics appearin the new user-defined marketplace as appear in pre-existingmarketplaces).

If user 132 indicates a desire to inherit listing topics at step 302,then at step 304 user 132 specifies the listing topics that are to beinherited to the newly-created user-defined marketplace 122. At step 304user 132 may specify one or more or all of the listing topics containedwithin one or more previously-defined marketplaces. User 132 may specifythese listing topics in any number of ways known to those of skill inthe art, including, for example, by entering the desired listing topicsinto fields displayed on a webpage hosted by server 106 using a keyboardor by selecting listing topics from a drop-down menu using a mouseconnected to access device 110 in communication with informationapplication 108.

In many embodiments, at step 304 user 132 is presented with an option toselect from the listing topics defined within the categoricalclassification 124 that was selected at step 218, the geographicclassification 126 that was specified at 222, and/or the relatedmarketplaces that were selected in step 234. After user 132 hasspecified the listing topics to be inherited, at step 306 these listingtopics are inherited and created within the new user-defined marketplace122. For example, a user 132 who has created the user-definedmarketplace “Dallas First Baptist Church” may decide to inherit each ofthe listing topics defined within the linked marketplace “MethodistChurch of Dallas”. Thus, if the “Methodist Church of Dallas” marketplacecontains the listing topics “Religious Discussion”, “Items for Sale” and“Service Opportunities”, these listing topics will be automaticallycreated within the “Dallas First Baptist Church” marketplace.

Alternative to the manual selection process described above inconnection with steps 302, 304 and 306, each of the listing topicscontained in the categorical classification 124 that was selected atstep 218, the geographic classification 126 that was specified at 222,and/or the related marketplaces that were selected in step 234 may beautomatically inherited by the new user-defined marketplace 122 throughan operation performed within information application 108.

Once the specified listing topics have been inherited at step 306, or ifa user 132 has specified at step 302 that no listing topics are to beinherited, then control proceeds to step 308 where user 132 is promptedto specify whether he/she desires to create additional listing topicswithin the newly-created user-defined marketplace 122. If user 132specifies a desire to create additional listing topics, then controlproceeds to step 310; otherwise exemplary process flow 300 terminates.At step 310, user 132 is prompted to specify the name of the listingtopic to be created. Generally speaking, the name chosen by user 132 maybe descriptive of the types of listings to be posted thereunder.

At step 312, user 132 may be prompted to specify the type of listingtopic that is desired to be created. In general, listing topics may beclassified into two broad types: marketplace topics and discussion forumtopics. Marketplace topics generally refer to topics in which itemsand/or services may be offered, requested, provided, obtained, shared,and/or exchanged. For example, a user 132 interested in facilitating theexchange of used religious books within the user-defined marketplace“Dallas First Baptist Church” might create a marketplace topic named“Religious Books for Sale”. In contrast, discussion forum topicsgenerally refer to topics in which information is exchanged, topics arediscussed, and messages are posted. For example, a user 132 interestedin discussing ways to improve photography skills might create adiscussion forum topic named “Photography Tips and Experiences” withinthe user-defined marketplace “Greater Boston Amateur PhotographersAssociation”.

Once user 132 has specified whether the listing topic is to be amarketplace topic or a discussion forum topic, control proceeds to step314 where the new listing topic having the specified attributes iscreated. At step 316, user 132 is prompted to specify whether he/shedesires to create additional listing topics. If yes, control returns tostep 310; otherwise exemplary process flow 300 terminates.

Returning to FIG. 2B, at step 240 user 132 is prompted to specify thelevel of administrative control user 132 desires to exercise over thenew user-defined marketplace 122, such as whether and how other users132 may post or view listings 118 within the new user-definedmarketplace 122, and/or whether and how other users 132 may gain accessto the contact information attributes contained in listings 118 postedwithin the new user-defined marketplace 122 (collectively, “accessrights”). An exemplary manner and method for determining whether a user132 may gain access to contact information attributes contained inlistings 118 will be described in greater detail below in connectionwith exemplary process flow 600 illustrated in FIG. 6.

Access rights may be specified by user 132 in any number of ways andcombinations. For example, user 132 may decide to limit the right topost and/or view listings 118 or to gain access to the contactinformation attributes of listings 118 within new user-definedmarketplace 122 to registered members of the new user-definedmarketplace 122 and/or to registered members of linked marketplaces(“limited access rights”). User 132 may also decide to permit all users132 of information platform 102 to post or view listings 118 and/or gainaccess to the contact information attributes of listings 118 within thenew user-defined marketplace 122 (“open access rights”). Access rightscould also be used to affect pricing (e.g., reduced pricing fordiscussion groups), to set additional features (e.g., threaded postings)or to make certain features inapplicable (e.g., no contact information).Upon specifying the access rights for user-defined marketplace 122,exemplary process flow 200 terminates.

In possible embodiments user 132 may be required to pay a fee to systemadministrators of information platform 102 or the creator/administratorof a pre-existing user-defined marketplace 122 in exchange for thecreation of a new user-defined marketplace. For example, as with thefees that may be paid in exchange for the creation of listings 118(described in greater detail above), user 132 may pay a flat periodicfee (e.g., a fee paid weekly, monthly or annually), aclassification-based fee (e.g., a fee that increases as the number ofclassifications with which user-defined marketplace 122 is associatedincreases), or a per-hit fee (e.g., a fee that is incurred every time auser 132 accesses user-defined marketplace 122) for the creation andstorage of a user-defined marketplace 122. In many embodiments, the typeof fee that a user 132 is required to pay for the creation ormaintenance of a user-defined marketplace 122 is stored as a fee-typeattribute in user-defined marketplace 122. Fee-types are discussed inmore detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/680,952.

As detailed above, exemplary process flow 200 enables users 132 tocreate marketplaces having a reach and scope that is specificallytailored to their particular domain of interest. In particular, byallowing users 132 to create their own geographic classifications, manyof which may be more local or specific than traditionaladministrator-defined geographic classifications, exemplary process flow200 enables a user 132 to create marketplaces that more closely alignwith a user's desired scope and reach. Exemplary process flow 200 thusfacilitates the exchange of information, items and services that werepreviously impractical within conventional classified systems.

In addition, classifying user-defined marketplaces 122 underadministrator-defined categorical classifications 124 and otherpreexisting user-defined marketplaces enables each user-definedmarketplace 122 to be organized and classified within the conventionaltaxonomic classification system detailed above, thereby facilitating theseamless integration of each new user-defined marketplace 122 intolisting classification data 116. Moreover, by allowing creators oradministrators of user-defined marketplaces 122 to set access rightsbased on whether a user is a registered member of a marketplace or alinked marketplace, the exposure, reach and privacy of each user-definedmarketplace can be more specifically tailored to meet the needs of eachmarketplace.

III. Creation of Listings

An exemplary process flow 400 for creating and posting listings 118within marketplaces in information platform 102 is illustrated in FIG.4. Exemplary process flow 400 may be implemented in informationapplication 108, information database 114, and/or other portions ofsystem 100. In many embodiments, user 132 creates and posts listings 118by interacting with various aspects of information platform 102 viaaccess device 110.

At step 402, user 132 selects the marketplace under which the newlisting 118 is to be classified. Generally speaking, user 132 may eitherselect an administrator-defined marketplace 120 (such as a categoricalclassification 124 or a geographic classification 126) or a user-definedmarketplace 122. For example, a user 132 living in the Boston area andinterested in listing the sale of a camera might select the user-definedmarketplace “Greater Boston Amateur Photographers Association”, or theadministrator-defined geographic classification “Greater Boston Area”.User 132 may select the desired marketplace at step 402 in any number ofways known to those of skill in the art, including, for example, byentering some or all of the name of the desired marketplace into fieldsdisplayed on a webpage hosted by server 106 using a keyboard (e.g., toperform a search for one or more matching marketplace(s)) or byselecting the desired marketplace from a drop-down menu using a mouseconnected to access device 110 in communication with informationapplication 108.

Once user 132 has selected the marketplace under which listing 118 is tobe posted, then at step 404 it is determined whether the selectedmarketplace is a user-defined marketplace 122 or an administratordefined marketplace 120. If the selected marketplace is a user-definedmarketplace 122, control proceeds to step 406; otherwise controlproceeds to step 416.

At step 406, it is determined whether the selected user-definedmarketplace 122 has open access rights or limited access rights, asthose terms have been described in connection with step 240 in FIG. 2B.As detailed above, creators/administrators may restrict access touser-defined marketplaces 122 based on whether a user 132 is aregistered member of the marketplace or a registered member of a linkedmarketplace. If at step 406 it is determined that the user-definedmarketplace 122 selected by user 132 at step 402 has open access rights,control proceeds to step 416. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 408.

At step 408, user 132 is prompted to specify whether he/she is aregistered member of this marketplace or a linked marketplace. In manyembodiments, the marketplaces that are linked to the user-definedmarketplace 122 selected by user 132 in step 402 are displayed so thatuser 132 can determine whether he/she is a registered member of any ofthese linked marketplaces. If at step 408 user 132 specifies that he/sheis not a registered member of either the selected marketplace or one ofthe displayed linked marketplaces, then control proceeds to step 410where user 132 is prompted to complete a registration process; otherwisecontrol proceeds to step 412. Persons of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the registration process of step 410 can occur in anynumber of ways, including by prompting user 132 to enter variousinformation or personally-identifiable indicia via access device 110,such as a name, address, email address, telephone number, etc. Theregistration process in step 410 may also entail requiring user 132 todefine a username and/or password. Upon successful registration at step410, the username and/or password defined by user 132 may be assigned tothe user by information application 108.

At step 412, user 132 may be prompted to enter login informationrelevant to the marketplace with which user 132 is registered. Uponentry of the requested login information, at step 414 it is determinedwhether the login information entered by user 132 matches registrationrecords contained within information platform 102. If the logininformation provided by user 132 matches registration records containedwithin information platform 102, then control proceeds to step 416.Otherwise, control returns to step 412 where user 132 is again promptedto enter login information.

Once user 132 has successfully logged in, at step 416 user 132 isprompted to select a listing topic under which the new listing 118 is tobe posted. For example, a user 132 living in the Ballston community ofArlington, Va. and interested in posting a listing 118 advertising thesale of a used children's bicycle might select the previously-definedlisting topic “Items For Sale” defined within the user-definedmarketplace “Ballston Community”.

Once user 132 has selected the desired listing topic, then at step 418user 132 is prompted to specify the listing content data 130 to beincluded in the new listing 118. As detailed above, listing content data130 refers to information about the item, service, announcement, messageor need that user 132 desires to be listed in listing 118. For example,listing content data 130 might contain a detailed description orpictures of an item for sale, details about a neighborhood barbeque,information about a secretarial job opening, or a message that user 132desires to communicate to members of an online discussion forum. Listingcontent data 130 may be specified by user 132 at step 418 in any numberof ways known to those of skill in the art, including, for example, byentering a text-based description of the new listing 118 using akeyboard connected to access device 110 and/or by uploading pictures,video or sound clips to information platform 102 from access device 110via connections 112.

Once user 132 has specified the listing content data 130 to be includedin listing 118, at step 420 user 132 is prompted to specify one or morelisting attributes to be associated with the new listing 118. Asdetailed above, listing attributes generally refer to attributes about aspecific listing 118, such as a contact information attribute, ageographic attribute, a classification attribute and/or a fee-typeattribute, as those terms have been previously defined. In manyembodiments, the listing attributes specified by user 132 are storedwithin listing attribute data 128.

Although user 132 may enter one or more of all of these listingattributes at step 420, in many embodiments user 132 is only prompted tospecify the contact information attributes to be associated with the newlisting 118, such as the user's telephone number, email address orphysical address. According to this embodiment, the remaining datastored in listing attribute data 128 are either assigned byadministrators of information platform 102 or are determinedautomatically based on information previously entered by user 132. Forexample, the classification attribute for the new listing 118 may bedetermined automatically based on the marketplace selected by user 132in step 404, the geographic attribute may be determined automaticallybased on the user's physical address provided during registration,and/or the fee-type attribute to be associated with the new listing 118may be assigned by system administrators of information platform 102.Alternatively, at step 420 user 132 may be prompted to specify each ofthe listing attributes to be associated with the new listing 118.

Once user 132 has specified the desired listing attributes at step 420,then at step 422 the new listing 118 is created and stored withininformation platform 102. As detailed above, in many embodimentslistings 118 are stored within information database 114. Upon thecreation of the new listing 118 at step 422, control of exemplaryprocess flow 400 terminates.

In some cases user 132 may be required to pay a fee tocreators/administrators of the marketplace selected at step 402 inexchange for creating and classifying a new listing 118 under thismarketplace or to maintain a listing. For instance, as with the feesthat may be paid in exchange for the creation of a new user-definedmarketplace 122 (described in greater detail above), user 132 may pay aflat periodic fee (e.g., a fee paid weekly, monthly or annually), aclassification-based fee (e.g., a fee that increases as the number ofclassifications with which user-defined marketplace 122 is associatedincreases), or a per-hit fee (e.g., a fee that is incurred every time auser 132 accesses user-defined marketplace 122) tocreators/administrators of the selected marketplace in exchange forcreating and classifying or maintaining a listing 118 under the selectedmarketplace. Fee-types are discussed in more detail in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/680,952.

For example, if at step 402 user 132 selects an administrator-definedmarketplace, system administrators of information platform 102 mayrequire user 132 to pay a specified fee in exchange for creating andclassifying a new listing 118 under this administrator-definedmarketplace. Alternatively, if at step 402 user 132 selects auser-defined marketplace 122, creators/administrators of the selecteduser-defined marketplace may require user 132 to pay a specified fee inexchange for creating and classifying a new listing 118 under thisuser-defined marketplace. In many embodiments, creators/administratorsof user-defined marketplaces 122 may also be required to share a portionof the fees they collect from users 132 with system administrators ofinformation platform 102.

IV. Exemplary User Search Flows

An exemplary process flow 500 for enabling users 132 to search forlistings 118 classified within marketplaces stored in informationplatform 102 is illustrated in FIG. 5. An alternative exemplary processflow 600 for enabling users 132 to browse for and locate listings 118 byinteracting with a webpage hosted by a server such as server 106 isillustrated in FIG. 6. Exemplary process flows 500 and 600 may beimplemented in information application 108, information database 114,and/or other portions of system 100. In many embodiments, user 132searches or browses for listings 118 by interacting with various aspectsof information platform 102 via access device 110.

Beginning with exemplary process flow 500, at step 502 user 132 isprompted to specify whether he/she desires to search for listings 118within a specific marketplace. If user 132 specifies a desire to searchfor listings 118 within a specific marketplace, control proceeds to step522. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 504 where user 132 is promptedto specify a desired geographic classification 126 to be searched.

At step 504, user 132 may specify the desired geographic classification126 to be searched in any number of ways known to those of skill in theart, including, for example, by entering the desired geographicclassification 126 into fields displayed on a webpage hosted by server106 using a keyboard connected to access device 110 in communicationwith information application 108. Alternatively, if the name of thedesired geographical classification 126 is unknown to user 132, user 132may select a geographic classification 126 to be searched from adrop-down menu displayed on a webpage hosted by server 106 using a mouseconnected to access device 110 in communication with informationapplication 108.

Once user 132 has specified the geographic classification 126 to besearched, then at step 506 user 132 is prompted to specify one or moresearch terms relevant to the item, service, message, etc. that user 132desires to locate. For example, a user 132 living in the metro area ofAtlanta, Ga. and interested in purchasing a used motorcycle might, afterspecifying the geographic classification 126 “Metro Atlanta” in step504, enter the search terms “motorcycle” and “used”.

At step 508, a search operation is performed to determine whether anylistings 118 classified within marketplaces associated with thegeographic classification 126 specified by user 132 at step 504 areresponsive to the search terms entered by user 132 in step 506. Listings118 may be determined to be responsive to the search terms entered byuser 132 in any number of ways, including, for example, by comparing thesearch terms entered by user 132 in step 506 with listing content data130 stored within each listings 118 classified under the geographicclassification 126 specified by user 132 at step 504 to determinewhether any of the search terms entered by user 132 match terms storedwithin this listing content data 130. Generally speaking, the searchoperation performed at step 508 is a process executed within informationplatform 102, such as by information application 108 provided by server106.

If at step 510 it is determined that one or more listings 118 classifiedwithin the marketplaces associated with the specified geographicclassification 126 are responsive to one or more of the search termsentered by user 132 in step 506, control proceeds to step 512 where theresponsive listings 118 are transmitted to and displayed on accessdevice 110. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 514.

The order in which responsive listings 118 are displayed on accessdevice 110 may be based on any number of factors or placementheuristics, including, for example, the number of matching termscontained within these listings 118 (“relevancy attribute”), thepriorities assigned to these listings 118 by system administrators ofinformation platform 102 (“position adjustment attribute”), and/or thefee-type attribute associate with these listings 118. For example,responsive listings 118 having a higher number of matching terms, ahigher position adjustment attribute, or a higher priority fee-typeattribute may be displayed on access device 110 prior to otherresponsive listings 118. In many embodiments, position adjustmentattributes are stored within listing attribute data 128. A detaileddescription and explanation of these and an additional number of methodsused to organize responsive listings may be found in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/948,425 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/680,952.

If, however, at step 510 it is determined that none of the listings 118classified within the marketplaces associated with the geographicclassification 126 specified by user 132 at step 514 are responsive toone or more of the search terms entered by user 132 at step 506, then atstep 514 a subsequent search operation is performed to determine whetherany listings 118 classified under marketplaces associated with ageographical classification 126 that is broader in scope than thegeographic classification 126 originally specified by user 132 at step504 are responsive to the search terms entered by user 132. In manyembodiments, the broader geographic classification 126 of step 514 isjust slightly broader in scope than the geographic classification 126specified by user 132 at step 504. For example, in the example where auser 132 living in Atlanta, Ga. desires to locate listings detailingused motorcycles for sale, if at step 510 it is determined that noresponsive listings 118 are classified within marketplaces associatedwith the geographic classification “Metro Atlanta”, then at step 514 asearch operation may be performed to determine whether responsivelistings 118 are classified within marketplaces associated with thegeographic classification “North Georgia”.

If at step 516 it is determined that one or more listings 118 classifiedwithin marketplaces associated with the broader geographicclassification 126 are responsive to one or more of the search termsentered by user 132 in step 506, control proceeds to step 518 where theresponsive listings 118 are transmitted to and displayed on accessdevice 110. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 520 where an errormessage is transmitted to and displayed on access device 110 indicatingthat no listings responsive to the user's search terms were located.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 5, one or more subsequent searchoperations may be performed prior to step 520 to determine whetherresponsive listings 118 are classified under marketplaces that areassociated with one or more progressively broader geographicclassifications 126. Persons of skill in the art will recognize,however, that the potential relevancy of any such listing 118 locatedwithin marketplaces associated with any of these progressively broadergeographic classifications 126 is likely to decrease generallyproportionate to the increased scope of the broader geographicclassifications 126.

Returning to step 502, if user 132 specifies a desire to search within aspecific marketplace, then at step 522 user 132 is prompted to specifythe desired marketplace to be searched. Generally speaking, user 132 mayspecify either a user-defined marketplace 122 or anadministrator-defined marketplace 120 (such as a categoricalclassification 124). User 132 may specify the desired marketplace to besearched in any number of ways known to those of skill in the art. Forexample, if the specific name of the desired marketplace is known touser 132, user 132 may enter the name of the desired marketplace into afield displayed on a webpage hosted by server 106 using a keyboardconnected to access device 110 in communication with informationapplication 108.

User 132 may learn of the names of user-defined marketplaces 122 in anynumber of ways, including, for example, through thecreators/administrators of the marketplace. For example, the minister ofthe Dallas First Baptist Church might inform members of the church'scongregation that a user-defined marketplace named “Dallas First BaptistChurch” has been created. Alternatively, if the name of the desiredmarketplace is unknown to user 132, user 132 may select a marketplace tobe searched from a drop-down or hierarchal menu displayed on a webpagehosted by server 106 using a mouse connected to access device 110 incommunication with information application 108.

Once user 132 has specified the name of the marketplace to be searched,then at step 524 user 132 is prompted to specify one or more searchterms relevant to the item, service, message, etc. that user 132 desiresto locate. For example, a user 132 living in the Boston area andinterested in purchasing a digital camera might, after selecting theuser-defined marketplace “Greater Boston Amateur PhotographersAssociation” at step 522, enter the search terms “digital” and “camera”.

Upon entering the desired search terms, at step 526 a search operationis performed to determine whether any of the listings 118 classifiedwithin the specified marketplace are responsive to the search termsentered by user 132. If at step 528 it is determined that one or morelistings 118 classified within the specified marketplace are responsiveto one or more of the search terms entered by user 132 in step 524,control proceeds to step 530 where the responsive listings 118 aretransmitted to and displayed on access device 110.

If, however, at step 528 it is determined that none of the listings 118classified within the marketplace specified by user 132 at step 522 areresponsive to one or more of the search terms entered by user 132 atstep 524, then at step 532 it is determined whether the marketplacespecified by user 132 at step 522 is an administrator-definedmarketplace 120 or a user-defined marketplace 122. If the marketplacespecified by user 132 at step 522 is an administrator-definedmarketplace 120, control proceeds to step 540. Otherwise, controlproceeds to step 534.

At step 534, a subsequent search operation is performed to determinewhether any listings 118 classified under any of the marketplaces linkedto the user-defined marketplace 122 specified by user 132 in step 522are responsive to the search terms entered by user 132. For example, inthe example where a user 132 living in the Boston area desires to locatelistings detailing digital cameras for sale, if at step 528 it isdetermined that no responsive listings 118 are classified within theuser-defined marketplace “Greater Boston Amateur PhotographersAssociation”, then at step 534 a subsequent search operation may beperformed to determine whether responsive listings 118 are classifiedwithin the linked marketplaces “Professional Photography Association ofBoston” and “Nature Photography Enthusiasts of Boston”. If there are nomarketplaces linked to the user-defined marketplace 122 specified byuser 132 at step 522, then steps 534 and 536 are skipped and controlproceeds to step 540.

If at step 536 it is determined that one or more listings 118 classifiedwithin one or more of the linked marketplaces are responsive to one ormore of the search terms entered by user 132 in step 524, controlproceeds to step 538 where the responsive listings 118 are transmittedto and displayed on access device 110. Otherwise, control proceeds tostep 540.

At step 540, a subsequent search operation is performed to determinewhether any of the listings 118 classified under the geographicalclassification 126 associated with the marketplace specified by user 132at step 522 are responsive to the search terms entered by user 132 (asdetailed above in connection with FIGS. 2A and 2B, marketplaces may beassociated with geographic classifications 126). For example, in theexample where a user 132 living in the Boston area interested inpurchasing a digital camera has specified the user-defined marketplace“Greater Boston Amateur Photographers Association” at step 522, then ifno responsive listings 118 are located at step 528 or step 536, then asubsequent search operation may be performed at step 540 to determinewhether responsive listings 118 are classified within the geographicclassification “Greater Boston area”.

If at step 542 it is determined that one or more listings 118 classifiedwithin the geographic classification 126 associated with the marketplacespecified by user 132 are responsive to one or more of the search termsentered by user 132 in step 524, control proceeds to step 544 where theresponsive listings 118 are transmitted to and displayed on accessdevice 110. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 514 where a subsequentsearch is performed to determine whether any of the listings 118classified under a geographical classification 126 that is broader inscope than the geographic classification 126 of step 542 are responsiveto the search terms entered by user 132. Control of exemplary processflow 500 then proceeds through steps 516, 518 and 520 in the mannerpreviously described.

Exemplary process flow 500 thus enables users 132 to locate listings 118relevant to their needs in a variety of ways. For example, by adaptivelyexpanding beyond the scope of the marketplace or classificationinitially specified by user 132, exemplary process flow 500 enables user132 to locate potentially relevant listings 118 that are just beyond thescope of the specified marketplace or classification. In addition, byexpanding the search for responsive listings 118 from the marketplacespecified by user 132 to linked marketplaces (if applicable) followed bybroadened geographic classifications 126, responsive listings 118 thatare more closely related to the search criteria entered by user 132 willbe located and displayed to user 132 prior to those listings 118 thatare less related. Exemplary process flow 500 thus realizes improvementsin searching efficiency and relevancy of returned results.

Exemplary process flow 600, illustrated in FIG. 6, provides analternative to exemplary process flow 500. As detailed above, in certainembodiments each marketplace and classification in information platform102 is classified or categorized in a hierarchal or taxonomical manner.For example, the categorical classification “Health Care Jobs” might beclassified as a species within the genus of the categoricalclassification “Employment Opportunities”, while the geographicclassification “Metro Atlanta” might be classified under the geographicclassification of “North Georgia”, and so on. Thus, as an alternative toexemplary process flow 500, exemplary process flow 600 enables users 132to browse for and locate listings 118 by interacting with a webpagehosted by server 106 to navigate through the hierarchal or taxonomicalrelationship between these marketplaces or classifications.

At step 602, a listing of select classifications stored withininformation database 114 (such as categorical classifications 124 orgeographic classifications 126) is presented to user 132 on accessdevice 110. In many embodiments, the select classifications to bepresented to user 132 are pre-selected by system administrators ofinformation platform 102. For example, system administrators mightdesire to present a select number of broad categorical classifications124 to user 132, such as “Help Wanted”, “Personal Ads”, or “Items ForSale”. System administrators might also desire to present a selectnumber of broad geographic classifications 126 to user 132, such as “SanFrancisco, Calif.”, “Georgia”, or “Dallas, Tex.”. The listing of selectclassifications may be presented to user 132 in any number of ways knownto those of skill in the art, such as by displaying the listing ofselect classifications as a webpage on access device 110.

At step 604, user 132 is prompted to select a classification to browsewithin from the list of select classifications presented on accessdevice 110. User 132 may select the desired classification in any numberof ways known to those of skill in the art, including, for example, byusing a mouse connected to access device 110 in communication withinformation application 108. Once user 132 has selected a classificationto browse within from the list of select classifications, at step 606user 132 may be presented with a list of the sub-classifications (suchas user-defined marketplaces 122) classified under the classificationselected by user 132 at step 604. In many embodiments, thesesub-classifications are displayed as a webpage on access device 110.

At step 608, user 132 is prompted to select a sub-classification tobrowse within from the list of sub-classifications presented on accessdevice 110. User 132 may select the desired sub-classification in anynumber of ways known to those of skill in the art, including, forexample, by selecting the desired sub-classification using a mouseconnected to access device 110 in communication with informationapplication 108.

Once user 132 has selected a sub-classification to browse within fromthe list of sub-classifications, at step 610 user 132 may be presentedwith a list of the listing topics contained in this sub-classification.In many embodiments, this list of listing topics is displayed as awebpage on access device 110. At step 612, user 132 is then prompted toselect a listing topic to browse within from the list of listing topicscontained in the selected sub-classification. User 132 may select thedesired listing topic in any number of ways known to those of skill inthe art, including, for example, by using a mouse connected to accessdevice 110 in communication with information application 108.

Once user 132 has selected the desired listing topic at step 612, thenat step 614 a listing of each of the listings 118 classified under theselected listing topic may be presented to user 132 on access device110. In many embodiments, the listings 118 classified under the selectedlisting topic are displayed as a webpage on access device 110. Controlof exemplary process flow 600 then terminates.

For example, a user 132 living in the Boston area and interested inpurchasing a digital camera might select the geographic classification“Greater Boston Area” at step 604 from an initial listing ofclassifications displayed on a webpage hosted by server 106 at step 602.At step 608, user 132 may then select the user-defined marketplace“Greater Boston Amateur Photographers Association” from a listing ofsub-classifications classified under the geographic classification“Greater Boston Area” displayed on access device 110 at step 606. User132 may then select the listing topic “Digital Cameras For Sale” at step612 from a listing of the listing topics contained within thisuser-defined marketplace and displayed on access device 110 at step 610.Each of the listings 118 classified under the listing topic “DigitalCameras For Sale” may then be displayed on access device 110.

Thus, in certain embodiments, user 132 may locate listings 118 bybrowsing through or exploring the hierarchal or taxonomicalrelationships between the marketplaces and classifications ininformation platform 102 by interacting with a webpage hosted by server106 using a mouse connected to access device 110. Allowing user 132 tolocate listings 118 in this manner provides greater flexibility toinformation platform 102 and enables users 132 to locate listings 118closely related to a specific field of interest without requiring theuse of precise search terms. Ease of use of information platform 102 isthus increased, thereby leading to potential increases in marketexposure for listings 118 and a potential increase in the number ofrealized transactions.

As an alternative to requiring user 132 to select a marketplace orgeographic classification to search or browse within in exemplaryprocess flows 500 and 600, user 132 may search for listings 118 storedin information platform 102 merely by specifying one or more searchterms relevant to the item, service, message, etc. that user 132 desiresto locate. In many embodiments, user 132 is simply prompted to enter oneor more search terms into a search box displayed on a webpage hosted bya server, such as server 106. For example, a user 132 living in themetro area of Atlanta, Ga. and interested in purchasing a usedmotorcycle might enter the search terms “motorcycle”, “used” and“Atlanta” into a search box displayed on a webpage hosted by server 106by using an input device, such as a keyboard, connected to access device110.

Once user 132 has entered the desired search terms, a search operationsimilar to that described in connection with step 508 in FIG. 5 isperformed to determine whether any of the listings 118 stored withininformation database 114 are responsive to the search terms entered byuser 132. As described above, listings 118 may be determined to beresponsive to the search terms entered by user 132 in any number ofways, including, for example, by comparing the search terms entered byuser 132 with the listing attribute data 128 (such as the geographicattributes or classification attributes) or listing content data 130stored within each of the listings 118 in information database 114 todetermine whether any of the search terms entered by user 132 matchterms stored within this listing attribute data 128 or listing contentdata 130. Generally speaking, this search operation is a processexecuted within information platform 102, such as by informationapplication 108 provided by server 106.

If one or more listings 118 stored within information database 114 aredetermined to be responsive to one or more of the search terms enteredby user 132, the responsive listings 118 are transmitted to anddisplayed on access device 110. In many embodiments, these responsivelistings 118 are ordered in accordance with their relevancy attributes,position adjustment attributes, and/or their fee-type attributes (asthose terms have been previously-defined) prior to their being displayedon access device 110.

Thus, by permitting user 132 to search for relevant listings 118 basedsolely on one or more search terms, users are able to locate potentiallyrelevant listings without having to limit their search to a specificmarketplace or geographic classification. Ease of use of system 100 isthereby increased and the complexity associated user search flows isreduced.

V. Accessing Contact Information Attributes

As detailed above, in certain embodiments user 132 may decide torestrict access to the contact information attributes of listings 118within user-defined marketplaces 122 based on whether a subsequent user132 is a registered member of the user-defined marketplace 122 or aregistered member of a linked marketplace. An exemplary process flow 700for determining when users 132 may access the contact informationattributes associated with listings 118 in user-defined marketplaces 122is illustrated in FIG. 7. Exemplary process flow 700 may be implementedin information application 108, information database 114, and/or otherportions of system 100. In many embodiments, user 132 accesses thecontact information attributes associated with listings 118 byinteracting with various aspects of information platform 102 via accessdevice 110.

As explained earlier in connection with exemplary process flows 500 and600, users 132 may locate listings 118 relevant to their needs in avariety of ways. Once a relevant listing 118 has been located, at step702 user 132 may select this listing 118 in a number of ways well knownto those of skill in the art, including through use of access device 110in communication with information platform 102. At step 704, themarketplace (administrator-defined or user-defined) under which thelisting 118 selected by user 132 is classified is determined. In manyembodiments, the marketplace under which listing 118 is classified isstored as a classification attribute in listing attribute data 128.

Once the marketplace under which the listing 118 selected by user 132 isdetermined, at step 706 it is determined whether users 132 ofinformation platform 102 have been given open access to thismarketplace. If so, control proceeds to step 720 where the contactinformation attributes associated with the selected listing 118 aredisplayed on access device 110. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 708.

At step 708, the type of access restriction that has been placed on theselected listing 118 is determined. If access to the contact informationattributes associated with the selected listing 118 is only granted toregistered members of the listing's marketplace, control proceeds tostep 710. If, however, access to the contact information attributesassociated with the selected listing 118 is granted to registeredmembers of the listing's marketplace and to registered members ofmarketplaces that have been linked to the listing's marketplace, thencontrol proceeds to step 722.

If access is restricted to members of the listing's marketplace, controlproceeds through 710 to step 712. At step 712, user 132 is prompted tospecify whether he/she is a registered member of the marketplaceassociated with the selected listing 118. If user 132 specifies thathe/she is a registered user of this marketplace, control proceeds tostep 716 where user 132 may be prompted to enter the login informationuser 132 received upon registration with the marketplace.

If at step 712 user 132 specifies that he/she is not a registered memberof the marketplace associated with the selected listing, then controlproceeds to step 714 where user 132 is prompted to complete aregistration process. As detailed above, persons of ordinary skill inthe art will understand that the registration process of step 714 canoccur in any number of ways, including by prompting user 132 to define ausername and/or password. Upon successful registration at step 714, theusername and/or password defined by user 132 may be assigned to user 132by information application 108.

At step 716, user 132 is prompted to enter the login informationprovided to user 132 upon registration with the marketplace associatedwith the selected listing. Upon entry of the requested logininformation, at step 718 it is determined whether the login informationentered by user 132 matches registration records contained withininformation platform 102. If the login information provided by user 132matches registration records contained within information platform 102,then control proceeds to step 720. Otherwise, control returns to step716 where user 132 is again prompted to enter login information.

Returning to step 708, if access to the contact information attributesassociated with the selected listing 118 is granted to registeredmembers of the listing's marketplace and to registered members ofmarketplaces that have been linked to the listing's marketplace, controlproceeds through step 722 to step 724. At step 724, user 132 is promptedto specify whether he/she is a registered member of the selectedlisting's marketplace or a linked marketplace. If user 132 specifiesthat he/she is a registered user of the selected listing's marketplaceor a linked marketplace, control proceeds to step 728 where user 132 maybe prompted to enter the login information user 132 received uponregistration with the specified marketplace. Otherwise, control proceedsto step 726.

At step 726, user 132 is prompted to complete a registration processwith either the selected listing's marketplace or a linked marketplacein much the same manner as detailed in connection with step 714. Uponsuccessful registration at step 726, at step 728 user 132 is prompted toenter the login information provided to user 132 upon registration withthe marketplace. Upon entry of the requested login information, at step730 it is determined whether the login information entered by user 132matches registration records contained within information platform 102.If the login information provided by user 132 matches registrationrecords contained within information platform 102, then control proceedsto step 720. Otherwise, control returns to step 728 where user 132 isagain prompted to enter login information.

At step 720, the contact information attributes associated with thelisting 118 selected by user 132 in step 702 are transmitted to anddisplayed on access device 110. In many embodiments, these contactinformation attributes include the address, phone number or emailaddress of the user who created listing 118. User 132 may then contactthe user who created listing 118 using the contact information provided.

By restricting access to the contact information attributes associatedwith listings 118 to registered members of the listing's marketplace orlinked marketplaces, exemplary process flow 700 serves to limit thenumber of unwanted letter, email and phone solicitations the creator oflisting 118 will receive. Thus, although all users 132 of informationplatform 102 may view the listing content of each listing 118, onlyusers 132 satisfying the access rights criteria established bycreators/administrators of the listing's marketplace may access thecontact information associated with the listing.

VI. Alternative Embodiments

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principlesand modes of operation have been explained and illustrated. However, itshould be understood that embodiments described herein may be practicedotherwise than is specifically explained and illustrated withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope thereof, and that the inventiondisclosed hereby is intended to be limited only by the following claims.

1.-31. (canceled)
 32. A system, comprising: a server including aninformation application, said information application being incommunication with an information database, said information databasecomprising a plurality of marketplaces and a plurality of listingsrespectively classified within said plurality of marketplaces; whereinsaid plurality of marketplaces comprise pre-defined marketplaces anduser-defined marketplaces distinct from said pre-defined marketplaces;and wherein at least one of said user-defined marketplaces is associatedwith a classification defining at least one listing topic, and at leasta subset of said at least one listing topic defined by saidclassification is inherited and created within said marketplace.
 33. Thesystem of claim 32, wherein said information application is selectivelyaccessible by users and said user-defined marketplaces are selectivelycreated by at least a subset of the users.
 34. The system of claim 32,wherein each of said plurality of listings comprises listing attributedata, said listing attribute data comprising at least one of aclassification attribute, a geographic attribute, a contact informationattribute, a fee-type attribute, and a position adjustment attribute.35. The system of claim 32, wherein a fee-type attribute is assigned toeach of said user-defined marketplaces.
 36. The system of claim 32,wherein said plurality of listings and said user-defined marketplacesare created based at least in part on data supplied by an access devicein communication with said information application.
 37. The system ofclaim 36, wherein said information application is configured to generateand transmit a response to said access device based upon a requesttransmitted from said access device, said request comprising at leastone search term and said response comprising at least one of saidplurality of listings responsive to said request.
 38. The system ofclaim 32, wherein at least one of said user-defined marketplaces isclassified in a classification within at least one of said pre-definedmarketplaces.
 39. The system of claim 32, wherein at least one of saiduser-defined marketplaces is classified within at least one otheruser-defined marketplace.
 40. The system of claim 32, wherein at leastone of said user-defined marketplaces is associated with a geographicclassification stored in said information database, wherein saidgeographic classification is user-defined.
 41. The system of claim 32,wherein at least one of said user-defined marketplaces is linked with atleast one other user-defined marketplace.
 42. The system of claim 41,wherein one of said user-defined marketplaces linked to anothermarketplace inherits listing topics defined within said marketplace towhich it is linked.
 43. The system of claim 42, wherein access to saiduser-defined marketplace is restricted based on a set of user-definedaccess rights and wherein a user-defined marketplace includesuser-defined listing topics.
 44. The system of claim 43, wherein saiduser-defined access rights limit access to said user-defined marketplaceto registered users of said user-defined marketplace and registeredusers of marketplaces that are linked to said user-defined marketplace.45. A method, comprising: maintaining an information database comprisinga plurality of marketplaces; establishing a set of pre-pre-definedmarketplaces and user-defined marketplaces distinct from the pre-definedmarketplaces; associating, at a server, at least one of the user-definedmarketplaces with a classification defining at least one listing topic,wherein the at least one of the user-defined marketplaces inherits atleast a subset of the at least one listing topic defined by theclassification and created within the marketplace.
 46. The method ofclaim 45, further comprising establishing at least a subset of theuser-defined marketplaces.
 47. The method of claim 45, furthercomprising classifying at least one of the user-defined marketplaceswith at least one other user-defined marketplace.
 48. The method ofclaim 45, further comprising associating at least one of theuser-defined marketplaces with a geographic classification stored in theinformation database
 49. The method of claim 45, further comprisinglinking at least one of the user-defined marketplaces with at least oneother user-defined marketplace.
 50. The method of claim 45, wherein oneof the user-defined marketplaces linked to another marketplace inheritslisting topics defined within the marketplace to which it is linked. 51.A system, comprising: a server including an information application,said information application being in communication with an informationdatabase, said information database comprising a plurality ofmarketplaces and a plurality of listings respectively classified withinsaid plurality of marketplaces; wherein said plurality of marketplacescomprise pre-defined marketplaces and user-defined marketplaces distinctfrom said pre-defined marketplaces; and wherein at least one of saiduser-defined marketplaces is linked with at least one other user-definedmarketplace and inherits listing topics defined within said marketplaceto which it is linked.